BatmanStar Wars: Dark Side 3 Invasion
by Darth Yoshi
Summary: Picking up a few years after the events of Dark Side 2, a new Batman must face the threat of the Empire as Xizor continues his plans for conquest of two universes.
1. Chapter 1

Batman/Star Wars: Dark Side 3 - Invasion

By Christopher W. Blaine (cwblainegmail.com)

DISCLAIMER: All characters contained in this story are copyright 2009 by their respective license holders. They are used her for fan-related entertainment purposes only. This original story is copyright 2009 by Christopher W. Blaine.

_Beyond the 52: The multiverse is vast and always growing. The 52 is the home of the DC Universe you read about in comics, but there are many other areas where possibilities lie. The Time Enforcement Agency patrols the Temporal Domain, which contains Earth-149 through Earth-191. _

_These are their stories._

Chapter 1

Earth-170, the Temporal Domain

Amanda Waller was not a woman who had been gifted with stunning good looks or a genius intelligence. Quite the opposite, the mixture of her parents' DNA had produced a woman of girth and grit, a person who had learned real power came not from within, but from outside the body. Understanding people and their desires were her talents.

As an African-American woman, many not-in-the-know would comment she had been "given" her position in the CIA. Nothing was further from the truth. Starting out as an analyst, she had manipulated and back-stabbed her way to the head of the Suicide Squad department. In the world of intelligence and covert operations, she was a legend for her political gamemanship. To the super-hero community, she was the devil incarnate.

That suited her fine as she hated the super-heroes. Wearing a costume and being different did not, in her opinion, give you the right to be above the law. She had worked decades for that privilege. People like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman just assumed they were special.

Along with the heroes came their rivals, the super-villains. Rob a bank with a ski mask and you were a thug; rob one in a diaper and call yourself the Poo-Poo Bandit and suddenly people thought you were beyond the power of the police to handle.

It was all ludicrous she told herself as she watched her technicians work on a bank of video screens. Most costumed villains were stopped by the police, but you would not know it if you read papers like the Daily Planet. Submitting to the aura of mystique that surrounded the hero community, they perpetuated the myth that only the Justice League or Teen Titans could protect the world.

The reality was that many super-villains, tired of having beat cops kick the crap out of them after an arrest, would try to go straight after a couple of years. Unfortunately, the modern mythology made every "super-villain" into a wanna-be Hitler and no matter how hard they tried, the good life eluded them. The public simply could never accept that Catwoman, the Parasite or Goldface would want to give up the bad and live for the good.

That was where Amanda stepped in. She was quite adept at selecting which villains really wanted to start over. By joining the Suicide Squad, they were agreeing to use their talents and abilities for Uncle Sam in exchange for a new life. Again, what people on the outside saw was a portly, middle-aged black woman in charge of washed-up and whining bad guys.

Amanda knew differently. Under her command was a paramilitary force composed of people who, if not for momentary lapses of judgment, may have taken down power houses like Superman, Captain Marvel or Power Girl.

She was, in reality, the most powerful person in the world. At her order, the royal family in England could be assassinated by Deadshot. Soviet-era nuclear missiles could be set to launch by Chesire. The leader of an organized crime family could be eaten by Killer Croc.

Amanda Waller held the magic "get out of jail free" card. All of the marbles were hers. None of this was given to her and would never be taken away without a fight.

One by one, the screens in the bank flickered to life. The metallic skull logo of the Legion of Doom was emblazoned on a red background. The Legion was a subsidiary program of the Suicide Squad. Where the Squad actually performed the missions, the Legion of Doom selected them.

The group did not officially exist. No records were kept of any meetings. Documents were transmitted electronically with nanobots attached to them. Once a meeting was over, the small robots would consume the files. Members did not know the identities of other members. Code names were assigned by Amanda, who used the think tank to assist her in making key decisions.

It was called the Legion of Doom because she only consulted them whenever a problem arose where not being proactive would result in some super-hero or do-gooder taking unsanctioned actions.

While the secure Internet connections were being made, Amanda considered the events that had caused her to put together the Legion. Five years before, the monster called Doomsday had walked through the National Guard, the Justice League and finally Superman. The thought of something so powerful made the government take notice.

Then Mongul destroyed Coast City and again America was caught past year, Captain Atom, a hero who worked closely with the military, had discovered a cloaked satellite in orbit above the Earth. The discovery was not publicized, but the President wanted more information. The mission was given to the Suicide Squad. Amanda agreed the satellite had to be destroyed, but she also needed to know who had built it and why. How had it been constructed? How had it been put into position? What would have happened if some other agency, like Checkmate, had been given the mission?

The Legion's first assignment had been to answer those questions. The determined Brother Eye, the name of the satellite, was the product of an individual possessed of extreme paranoia and matching financial resources. Through various tools at the disposal of the members of the Legion of Doom, everything was traced back to the Batman. The hero had become convinced aliens and metahumans posed a potential threat to Earth.

Amanda did not disagree with him, but he was not the person to be the overseer of the world. That was her job and to that end she had championed a government-sponsored investigation into the activities of the Batman. He, of course, resisted and soon there was a crisis of sorts with heroes supporting Batman standing against those who felt he had gone too far. All the while, Suicide Squad agents were dumping data from Brother Eye's memory into CIA computers.

Two months ago, the war had ended when several of Batman's allies, including the Dark Knight himself, were "accidentally" killed in battle with Captain Atom. Other supporters, including Black Lightning, Metamorpho, the Question and Geo-Gorce had allegedly fled to Markovia. Geo-Force happened to be the ruler of the small European country.

Rumors were the Bat was not actually dead, but that didn't matter. His knowledge now belonged to Amanda. His Brother Eye was space junk and the super-hero community was splintered and fractured. All of these were good for Amanda.

The screens began to portray the members of the Legion. Their faces appeared on monitors that had been labeled with masking tape with their code names. The members did not know who Amanda was and they would not be able to see her. The only thing they were aware of was their own personal benefits for being members.

For example, member "Princess"was an heiress with an addiction to sex, drugs and reality television. In front of the cameras she played the typical blond idiot. The truth was her IQ was around 180 and the only reason she was unable to achieve any real success was because of her fetishes for much older men and much younger women. So long as she pied her vices outside the United States, she was assured anyone who tried to reveal her secrets disappeared.

Each one of them was indebted to Amanda. "Brainiac", a French physicist, had four ex-wives and a lot of alimony. "Touchdown"' was a former quarterback who needed a new identity after his gambling debts exceeded his worth. The real prize was the member code-named "Executive". Lex Luthor was perhaps the most intelligent man on Earth. He had created LexCorp. He had been president of the United States. He was also a convicted felon who murdered without regard to achieve his goals. Anyone else would have gone to the gas chamber long ago. Most thought it was Superman's pleas for mercy that kept Luthor from being executed. In reality, the scientist has a deal with the government. In order for that deal to remain kosher, he had to be submissive to Amanda's whims.

Once all of the technicians were out of the room, two security team members, personally selected by Amanda, scanned the area for listening devices. Outside the building and throughout the world, seven spy satellites continuously monitored Internet traffic. Anyone attempting to listen in would be targeted by a missile defense laser and eliminated.

The one thing Amanda stressed about the Legion, especially to its members, was that it only met to discuss matters of "crisis" level proportions. This included intergalactic invasions, space/time problems and sudden metahuman activity outside the norm.

The last member to arrive was "Disciple", an Arabic fundamentalist who was currently advising the government of Iran on the nuclear "power"program.

Amanda, speaking into a microphone that changed her voice, opened the conference. "All of you have had 48 hours to review the package. The information was pulled from a reliable source outside our group".

Touchdown was the first to comment. "Whoever collected this info was very clear the threat presented by this New Order was very real."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Amanda asked.

There were several murmurs and Touchdown responded. "Most of the evaluations I have looked at detail a potential threat. The author of this document was very clear this was going to happen." There was a pause and Touchdown concluded his explanation. "It's just a matter of when."

Brainiac agreed. His voice was filtered to give him an American accent. "I cannot speak to tactics or intentions, but the basic physics involved are sound. Interdimensional travel is possible, but..."

"But what?"

Athena, head of S.T.A.R. Labs in Greece, who had a habit of acquiring antiquities on the black market, took up the conversation. "What Brainiac is trying to say is most of the experiences we have had with extra-dimensional travel has been between parallel worlds. The evidence presented suggests an entirely different reality. The laws of Creation as we know them may not apply."

"But, we have records from the Justice League," Brainiac replied, not willing to let a woman get the last word in. "The individuals identified as Darth Maul and Boba Fett were able to operate normally in this universe. Therefore, while I agree we are dealing with a civilization of advanced technology, it is not anything beyond what is possible in this universe."

The monitor with Lex Luthor's face showed a bald-headed man with an arrogant smirk. Amanda could tell he had already formulated a strategy. Luthor was more than willing to let the others add their two cents worth.

The actual issue before the Legion of Doom dealt with an intergalactic empire under the leadership of a possible metahuman named Palpatine. On three occasions, the Justice League had been forced to confront threats related to the empire. First, 4 years ago, a warrior named Darth Maul fought and defeated the more powerful members of the League, including Superman, Captain Marvel and Guy Gardner. Maul was finally beaten by Batman and the Martian Manhunter. A year later, Batman took a Justice League Task Force to Maul's dimension to rescue another hero, Nightwing. Information gathered from computers in the Empire had, along with a later attempt to assassinate Green Lantern, convinced Batman to create Brother Eye.

"This empire is a combination of the Third Reich and Rome," Princess summarized. "They know we're here and they've shown interest in our metahumans. It seems to me the biggest issue is the time difference."

Luthor could no longer contain himself. Amanda checked her PDA and noted Luthor had escaped from his prison cell a week before. "Have any of you primates considered the possibility this is an example of Morrow's Principle?"

Thomas Oscar Morrow was the world's leading expert on time. He would have been recruited for the Legion except Amanda had yet to locate him. "For those of you who specialize in the more mundane sciences," Luthor began, "Morrow stated that it is not possible for two dimensions to have the exact same characteristics. When presented with travel from one dimension to another and there are no notable variances, one must assume everything is from the same reality, but different time periods."

Amanda was intrigued. Were they dealing with forces from the future? Her fingers danced over her laptop keyboard, calling up files on known time-travelers. One name, Booster Gold, stuck out. He was a hero who was supposed to have come from the 25th century. He had also been part of Batman's Justice League Task Force. Booster Gold was also, from the looks of his credit report, seriously in debt.

Astro was an Australian astronomer and expert on the many alien worlds that had regular contact with Earth. "Morrow likes to restate the work of others, but I concede that Executive has a point. I personally believe this is a civilization residing in a place found a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away."

"Exactly," Luthor agreed. "If what we have read is true, we, or at least the Justice League, introduced time travel to a civilization that died out millions of years ago."


	2. Chapter 2

Batman/Star Wars: Dark Side 3 - Invasion

By Christopher W. Blaine ()

DISCLAIMER: All characters contained in this story are copyright 2009 by their respective license holders. They are used her for fan-related entertainment purposes only. This original story is copyright 2009 by Christopher W. Blaine.

_Beyond the 52: The multiverse is vast and always growing. The 52 is the home of the DC Universe you read about in comics, but there are many other areas where possibilities lie. The Time Enforcement Agency patrols the Temporal Domain, which contains Earth-149 through Earth-191. _

_These are their stories._

Chapter 2

Imperial Center, the Temporal Domain

Xizor laid the datapad down on the highly-polished desktop and leaned back. Making a steeple with his fingers, he rested the bearded chin that adorned his emerald features. A member of the Falleen, his ancestry was reptilian and with that came a coolness that some confused with aloofness.

If there was any being in the galaxy who could have made a case for being superior, it was Xizor. At just over 200 years of age, he was approaching his prime and it was not uncommon, especially of late, for him to wonder "what next"? He was already a member of the Falleen royal family, though he often played down his regal connections. He was, or at least, had been the leader of Black Sun, the largest criminal organization in the Empire. As the current head of Imperial Security, he had successfully integrated his unlawful business into the legitimate government. Black Sun had been replaced by the Black Corps, but for all intents and purposes, it was business as usual.

None of that mattered. To him, those were not accomplishments, but simply the fruits of his labors. Common things. There were other things he kept close to his cold heart that he considered praiseworthy. It had been he who had put forth the necessary resources for breaking down the barriers between his universe and that of the Batman. He had been the one who had obtained the DNA of the Batman's apprentice. With that genetic material, he had created a small clone army that now served him, thereby serving the Empire. All credit had been given to Xizor when he had uncovered Darth Vader's attempt to have Luke Skywalker join him in overthrowing the Emperor.

In the battle for dominance in the Imperial Court, the non-human Xizor had more than proven his skill. In fact, it had been his work for the Emperor against Batman and Darth Vader that had secured him his current position.

Clad in a black officer's uniform with red trim, he struck an imposing figure. Behind him, hidden in the shadows, were members of his personal bodyguard. Dressed in leather battle suits of somber blues and grays, the Sithwings were continually stretching out with the Force to detect any threats to their master.

The first batch of clones that Xizor had commissioned were bred with altered midi-chlorian counts. To do this, the genetic material of a fallen Jedi Master was used. Not even Emperor Palpatine was aware of whose DNA Xizor had used. When questioned, the cautious Xizor would explain he had obtained the material from an ancient Jedi artifact he had purchased on the black market. The Emperor had seemingly accepted the response. In fact, the old Sith seemed to take some perverse joy in knowing Xizor was trying to cobble together a Dark Side army. If he ever became aware that each Sithwing was half Mace Windu, the Jedi Master who nearly killed Emperor Palpatine two decades before, there was no doubt Xizor's life would be forfeit.

Only Palpatine had the ability to make Xizor feel fear. It was not something he enjoyed admitting to himself.

A small light illuminated on the video scree. He reached a slender finger out and took it out of privacy mode. A beautiful blonde-haired woman appeared.

"Guri reporting, the woman said. Ï have successfully immersed myself into the Earth society. I have also identified a primary target and will be executing Phase Two by the time this transmission reaches you. I have reset my internal chronometer and will initiate Phase Three, as agreed, in one standard month.

The image froze and Xizor checked the chrono-stamp. The plan was proceeding with an acceptable variance. This was his most audacious move to date and if it were successful, Xizor would become the most powerful being in two universes.

Xizor's private castle on Imperial Center was an imposing structure. Made from the darkest stones found on Dantooine, it was the stuff of nightmares. It had been completely remodeled after it was invaded by the Batman a few years back. Xizor had discovered the whole venture had resulted in several breaches in security. Gone were the Black Sun mercenaries; all had been replaced, because of his position, with elite stormtroopers.

In an open air garden, Xizor spoke with a crimson-skinned man in a yellow and black uniform. On the man's hand was a glowing yellow ring. The ambiance of the ring seemed to surround Xizor's companion's body.

"Lord Sinestro, Xizor began, holding a glass of wine up in respect. Ï am happy to see you have managed to cross the boundary safely."

A former Green Lantern, perhaps the greatest of them all, Sinestro had used his authority and power to subjugate his home planet of Korugar. Defeated, he eventuallyformed his own _Sinestro Corps_ in order to spread order through fear. "Interdimensional travel is something I have become accustomed to," Sinestro responded. His power ring had already, during the last few weeks, trained him in Galactic Basic. "When I was originally expelled from the Green Lantern Corps," he continued, "I ended up in the Anti-Matter Universe of Qward."

Xizor made a mental not to investigate the claim at a later date. The science of harnessing anti-matter was not new, bit also had not yet been perfected. "Your Green Lantern Corps remind me of the Jedi Order that once tried to exert influence here," the Falleen prince told him. He swirled his glass of wine and eyed his guest. "Let me get to the business at hand."

Sinestro set his glass down and nodded. "You have suggested an alliance through your agent," he stated. Six standard months before, Xizor had sent the bounty hunter/assassin droid IG-88 in pursuit of Sinestro. Boba Fett, who had once tried to steal a Green Lantern power ring, had sold information on several so-called super-villains. Sinestro had intrigued Xizor because of his background and personal belief system."You intend on dominating my universe," Sinestro recounted, "but you will need my assistance to deal with issues in yours."

Xizor nodded his agreement and added, "I firmly believe that we present unknown factors to each others enemies. Your universe is guarded by the Green Lantern Corps; I have a full-scale rebellion underway." He was referring to the organized resistance under the leadership of idealists who wanted to reestablish the Old Republic. "The rebellion has heroes; some of them are Jedi Knights."

Sinestro chuckled. "Your robotic agent explained the Jedi to me. You are correct to compare them to the Lanterns. It took time for me to understand it, but order cannot be brought about by either democracy or diplomacy. From what I have learned, it seems this Jedi Council was as arrogant about its importance as the Guardians I once served."

Xizor was not sure about his feelings on the matter. The Jedi were never heavily involved with his people. And, he reminded himself, he owed his success to the Sith. It had been Darth Maul's rampage through the ranks of Black Sun that had allowed Xizor to so easily climb the ladder of success within that organization."So I can assume you find the terms acceptable?"Xizor asked.

Sinestro massaged his chin with his ring hand. "You agree to capture the worlds of Oa and Mogo, turn them over to me and assign my Corps as the universal law enforcement..."

"And you agree to eliminate the military forces of the rebel alliance,"Xizor finished.

The Corpsman held up a finger. "I have an additional, personal request."

Xizor's eyelids lowered slightly. He understood the power Sinestro had. Of all of the people he could have allied with, only the man from Korugar met with Xizor's approval. The Falleen respected power and lethal efficiency, qualities Sinestro had demonstrated. "Go ahead."

"I want all Green Lanterns captured by your forces turned over to my people."

Xizor considered it for a moment. Was this simply for revenge? There was no time for that. The invasion of the Batman's universe was on a precise timetable.

No, he told himself; all of the information he had indicated that Sinestro was a good soldier, a being who put duty to his ideals above his personal desires. "Acceptable, provided you expand your ranks slightly,"Xizor responded with a predatory smile.

It was Sinestro's turn to suspect the motives of his companion. From what he could tell, this universe was almost adverse to the conceot of elite groups. While there appeared to be some special military forces, there were no heroes or villains, no leagues, corps or societies. It was obvious Xizor wanted to employ members of his own universe in the Corps. Sinestro was not personally against the idea and, in fact, had several rings to let loose. Still, he wanted to know Xizor's reasoning. "I could accommodate such a request."

"I want to work immediately on the integration of our forces," Xizor explained. "While you and I can speak openly with each other, a major part of our plan involves the use of military forces. Emperor Palpatine has offered the use of the Imperial Fleet, which is notoriously distrustful of outsiders,"Xizor pointed out.

Sinestro nodded. "I can see that," he commented, his mind going through the possible scenarios.

Xizor leaned in close, speaking in a hushed tone. "My lord, I can state quite assuredly, would find the inclusion of select members of his inner circle..."

Sinestro held up a hand to cut him off. "I do agree with the idea of integrating our forces, but I cannot guarantee who the rings will select." The alien reached into his tunic pocket and withdrew a power ring. It was like his own except it did not glow. "Originally, I selected beings on my own along with those who inspired great fear." he did not bother to name who they were because it would mean nothing to Xizor.

"Like the Sith your Palpatine belongs to, only the worthy should be granted the power of fear."

Slowly, the ring began to glow and levitate from Sinestro's hand. Xizor's eyes widened as he wondered who out of all of the sentients he had encountered in two centuries of life would be selected? Who was it that inspired fear in others?

An electronic voice emanated from the ring. "Scanning...cannot determine sector. Initiating non-territorial selection protocols."

"Is this acceptable? Will this placate your senior military officers?" Sinestro asked with a smile. Xizor saw the grin and internally relaxed. Both he and Sinestro were on the same page.

He had found a worthy ally.


	3. Chapter 3

Batman/Star Wars: Dark Side 3 - Invasion

By Christopher W. Blaine ()

DISCLAIMER: All characters contained in this story are copyright 2009 by their respective license holders. They are used her for fan-related entertainment purposes only. This original story is copyright 2009 by Christopher W, Blaine.

_Beyond the 52: The multiverse is vast and always growing. The 52 is the home of the DC Universe you read about in comics, but there are many other areas where possibilities lie. The Time Enforcement Agency patrols the Temporal Domain, which contains Earth-149 through Earth-191. _

_These are their stories._

Chapter 3

Earth-170, the Temporal Domain

The Crisis the Batman had created resulted in his death. To those who had allied with him and survived, the reasons for his secretive mission were still applicable. Brother Eye was gone. The Justice League was splintered. Worst of all, the Empire was still out there.

All of these points were at the front of Dick Grayon's mind as he reviewed his costume. His mentor's death at the hands of the government-backed Captain Atom had not stopped the crusade. Not only was Grayson continuing Batman's plan to protect the world, but he had also taken up his mantle.

With the armor of the Dark Knight also came a family. Despite the fact Batman had worked hard to be a loner, he had attracted to him the heroes of the world that had no place else to go. Or, Dick thought, they had no place else they wanted to go.

Captain Atom had not only killed Batman, but many members of his family. Huntress. Batgirl. Metamorpho. Katana. Red Arrow. So many friends lost because Batman wanted to prevent Emperor Palpatine from overrunning the galaxy.

Across the work table, his closest friends worked on their weapons and costumes. They had, in the past year, gone from crimefighters to soldiers in a secret war. His adoptive brother, Tim, was putting the final touches on his Red Robin gear. He had been the third Robin, but when Batman died, he had struggled with what his purpose was. Tim had no firsthand knowledge of the threat posed by Palpatine's New Order. He, like many of the people who had followed Batman, believed more in the Caped Crusader's fear of what was coming than what they had experienced.

Kathy Kane was a woman of such natural beauty, it was hard not to stare at her. As Batwoman, she had worked alone trying to fill the void Batman's death had left in Gotham City. The fiery redhead never realized that by trying to honor the World's Greatest Detective, she had also attached his stigma to her.

No good deed goes unpunished, Dick thought. He pulled on the weighted cape and cowl, transforming himself into the Batman. Through the protective lenses of the cowl, he looked down at the youngest member of the foursome. Clad in the costume of Robin, the Boy Wonder, Damian Wayne verified the sharpness of the edge on his batarang. The natural son of Bruce Wayne and the criminal Talia, he was a youth full of rage. Missing the presence of a father he never knew, he had made the choice to vent his frustrations on anyone foolish enough to cross him.

Dick wanted to say something, but he was having a difficult time playing the father figure. He remembered the rage he had felt after his own parents had been murdered. It was only now, many years later, that he understood how difficult it must have been for Bruce Wayne to take him in.

Batman moved away and exited the small work area. Robin was behind him, silently becoming his shadow. They were in Batcave 2, a secondary base of operations built outside Metropolis. A few years back, Gotham City had suffered a massive earthquake. To ensure his "war on crime" continued no matter the disaster, Bruce Wayne had commissioned the building of Batcaves all around the world.

From the walkway that marked the boundary of the second level, Batman looked down at the rest of his Outsiders. The name had not been chosen randomly; it was the name of the team Batman, the first one, had formed when the Justice League had refused to assist him on a kidnapping case that had political ramifications.

Working on a battle van was the Question, female crime fighter who was also a former GCPD detective. Next to a bank of super-computers was an attractive redhead in a wheelchair and a tall, metallic red android. The woman, Barbara Gordon, was one of the many lost loves of Dick Grayson. The Red Tornado was a sentient being who was trapped in an artificial body.

The final members of the team were not present. Raven and Mary Batson were performing the all-important task of grocery shopping.

Batman planned to gather the team and tell them the next moves. With Brother Eye destroyed, the Earth was essentially blind to inter-dimensional forays. Not only would Brother Eye have detected an invasion by the Empire, but it could have also warned about rifts in space-time, the presence of Sinestro Corps or even a Boom Tube opening from Apokolips.

Stepping onto the bottom level, Batman decided to check with Barbara Gordon. After the incident that had crippled her, she had become the information dealer for the super-hero community, code-named Oracle. "Babs," Batman started as he approached, referring to her by a friendly nickname, "any word on the League?"

It was ironic that both Batman and Oracle were former members of the Justice League, as was the Red Tornado. She nodded and pushed her glasses up on her pretty nose. "You were right about Superman acting as peacemaker. He wants to meet with you."

Batman accepted the news without comment. Superman had been very upset with the lethal force that had eventually been used against the Batman and his allies. "How about the League membership?"

" I hacked into their e-mail server; Black Canary is calling a meeting of the team for a priority session," she reported. "You know she went against Bruce during the civil war."

"Yeah, I know," Batman said, a sadness in the response. Dinah Lance had not only been a trusted ally of the Batman family, but she had also been Barbara's best friend.

Bruce Wayne's perceived betrayal of the hero community by having Brother Eye monitor them had caused a civil war. When Black Canary had sided with the government, it had severed deep ties. "Do you know why?"

Barbara shrugged. "Reddy and I were discussing the possibilities."

Red Tornado joined the conversation. "I suspect the Black Canary, as the current League chair, is considering surrendering complete control of the League to the United States government."

Batman shook his head at the idea. "The senate tried that crap in 1951 with the Justice Society. Didn't work then and it won't work now."

"Why don't we put a virus on their server?" Robin asked. "It'll screw up their meeting."

The trio of heroes ignored the teen, knowing he was simply adding a voice to the disgust he felt over what he saw as the betrayal of his father. "Let's get the team together to discuss the next op," Batman told them. "We need to get into STAR Labs and find out how to contact Adam Strange."

"We used your toll-free number to report it," the uniformed Star City police officer said. He addressed four of the most influential members of the League. Though Star City was the home of some super-heroes, the local beat cops were not used to delivering reports to the "top cops" of super-heroes.

A blond-haired woman in a revealing blue and block outfit, complete with 3-inch heels and fishnet stockings, stood at the front. Her slender arms were crossed over her chest. It was obvious from her expression she was extremely upset. "Are you sure it's him?" she asked.

Behind her stood the familiar forms of Superman, the Flash and Aquaman. Superman, who had already used his vast vision powers to verify the victim, put a hand on her shoulder. For a moment, she seemed to stiffen, as if his touch were not welcome. He assumed she was too involved in the situation and that he had simply startled her.

On the ground before them was the twisted and bloodied body of a muscular man in his mid-forties. He was clothed in a Robin Hood type of costume, or at least the top half of his body was. Naked from the waist down, Green Arrow's death would forever be marked not as the end of a career of unselfish giving to others, but merely as an illicit sexual liaison gone wrong.

"We, of course, need to run an autopsy," the police officer told them, turning his head away. It was well-known in Star City that Green Arrow and Black Canary were an item. Unknown to the populace at large, they were actually married.

Wally West, also known as the Flash, moved in to mediate as Black Canary seemed frozen in place. Red Arrow, the adoptive son of the fallen hero, had been killed standing with the Batman. Too many tragedies were taking their toll on the Blond Bombshell. "Officer," the Flash began, true respect for the cop in his voice, "you can understand the Justice League's concern here. If this is the real Green Arrow, then we have an obligation to protect his secret identity."

"Who cares about that? What gives you super-heroes the right to be treated differently?" a plainclothes detective said, approaching the group.

"Detective," Superman began, holding out his hand in greeting.

The cop ignored it and instead barked an order to the uniformed officer to get the scene properly secured. Satisfied he had put the fear of God into the rookie, he turned his attention to the heroes. "You make one step towards interfering with my investigation and I'll have you all up on charges of obstruction, tampering with evidence and generally pissing me off."

Finally, Black Canary spoke. Her voice was even and calm. "The Justice League takes care of its own; we're taking the body."

"Canary," Aquaman started, uncomfortable with the idea of going up against lawful authority.

"Be quiet, Arthur," she snapped. "Green Arrow saved the world more than once. He deserves more than this."

The detective pointed a finger at her. "It's that self-serving attitude that forced Batman to watch out for you guys. It seems to me he deserved better, too!"

Superman, as a founding member of the League, decided to use his political clout to try and diffuse the situation. Since Batman's death, many police departments had refused to cooperate with the League. Even though Batman had been guilty of committing offenses such as burglary, he had become a martyr for the cause of the non-metahuman crime fighter. "Perhaps we should switch to Plan B," he interjected.

Without local cooperation, Black Canary would have to work with the newly established Office of Metahuman Activity Control, or OMAC, to get the body. OMAC was created after Captain Atom killed Batman and his allies after the so-called Civil Crisis. Black Canary herself had testified before congress about the need to share information between heroes and the government.

"Fine," she said, casting one more look at the body of her husband. She then looked sternly at the detective. "We won't forget this."

The cop shrugged, unimpressed by the threat. "I'll be sure to let you know if we find out what quiver he was sticking his arrow in!"

Raucous laughter serenaded the League members as they teleported away.


End file.
